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Barry M Lychee = mannequin hands?

Mannequin Hands. Attained by wearing a nail polish colour in a shade similar to the wearer's skin tone. The end result is a clean looking nail that makes fingers appear longer and daintier.

That's the idea anyway.

The colour used is going to depend upon your skin tone but some that immediately come to mind include CND Putty, American Apparel and Topshop's "Mannequin" and Sally Hansen's Cafe au Lait.

I have always shied away from wearing this kind of shade because a part of me internally pukes at the thought of it and when I think nude I can't help but imagine those pretty shades of white and light pink like Essie Mademoiselle or Ballet Slippers.

Still I picked up this Barry M polish when I was in the UK for a few reasons:

1) It's that Gelly Hi-Shine finish that people have been raving about. I have always found Barry M polishes pretty shiny on their own so the thought of that being amped up was appealing; and

2) Lychee was a new colour, a fair taupe that I thought was definitely mannequin/foundation colour but possibly flattering. Possibly. And why not try it for a few Pounds?

I applied it the other day and was a bit dubious about the "putty" colour. Like most Barry M polishes the consistency was good - I could have got away with one coat but to even out the faintest of streaks I applied two.

And actually...I really like it. It sort of reminds me of a browner version of OPI's Skull and Glossbones. Both are a little "off" in terms of traditional nail colours but there is something interesting about them.

I think Barry M sensibly added just enough white in the colour mix to lift it from being too brown or "Mannequin hand-esque". I have seen some other colour swatches from other brands and they often fall flat - or turn out too orange/flesh like.

This is actually nice. It's a good base colour for nail art too - next step is to get some steady hands and add a neon outline to it like in the picture below that sits in my "Beauty inspiration" folder on Pinterest :)

You can buy Lychee online here - Link! for less than £4...I love BarryM - may they always keep their polishes good quality, and their prices low!

What's your favourite type of nude polish?

PS. The shirt worn here was a past purchase from ASOS - I got some questions about it when I Instagram'd yesterday. They don't currently have it in stock but they periodically add it back to the site - the brand is Dahlia.

Laura, that colour is amazing! I like the way it highlights your nails without being too present at the same time. Plus, your nails themselves are very well manicured (I wish mine were, cough... >_>')Best wishes from Germany! <3

i absolutely LOVE your shirt! i think it'll look great for a casual night out because of the start studs and it's such a lovely twist on the classic studded collar trend! i've been meaning to give some of the gelly hi-shine polishes from barry m for a while now and i know that lychee has been tried and tested for a while now - maybe that'll be one of the first i try! :) X

That colour is gorgeous. I think that neutral nail polishes always look the best and it doesn't offend anyone at work. Though my hands always look red when I wear neutral polishes. But I would definitely purchase this polish :) x

I really love the barry M jelly polish's the colours are amazing, but my problem is that they chip SO easily, like after half a days wear. Its either im very rough with my hands or the formula just isn't very chip-proof!! either way this colour is beaut!

I'm quite partial to a nude polish, so I really want to try this Barry M one as it looks lovely.How did you get on with the neon outline? It looks like it would be quite hard to do and I don't have the steadiest of hands! :o)

In this blog we are chose the weather collection like as and it doesn't offend anyone at work. Though my hands always look red when I wear neutral polishes. But I would definitely purchase this polish. I never thought to put a nice stenciling around my nail when I paint it a more nude color- although that's definitely something I do from time to time as it lasts longer.Thanks.................///UOP AdmissionAJKMC Admission